Bedouin Experience

While on our trip to Jerusalem a few weeks ago, we immersed ourselves in the local culture, met some exciting businesses, and attended a high tech conference. Somewhere in the middle of all this, we managed to sneak away and have a little fun in Southern Israel.

Our first stop along this excursion was at a Bedouin camp near Arad. The Bedouin camp now serves as not only the home for the Bedouins who live in the area but also a cultural experience for travelers such as ourselves hoping to gain a little insight into this nomadic culture. Located in a desert oasis, the place is nothing short of beautiful. 

The team entering the Bedouin oasis

While there, we were treated to traditional Bedouin hospitality and storytelling. Our host ground fresh coffee beans for us and treated us to several blends that even a devout tea drinker found delicious.

Our Bedouin host grinding coffee beans in traditional fashion

Our host explained to us the history of the Bedouin people in Israel and how their culture fits into the modern State of Israel. As desert dwellers who have survived as nomads in this harsh landscape for years, the Bedouins' skills serve as valuable assets even in a modern world that has relegated their nomadic lifestyle more of a relic of the past. Currently, many Bedouins serve in the Israel Defense Force as desert trackers. Our host claimed that a true Bedouin is still much more effective than any modern technology when it comes to understanding the intricacies of the desert terrain, and based on his stories, I have no reason to doubt him.

And of course, no trip to a Bedouin camp would be complete without a sunset camel ride to experience get the full Bedouin experience:

The team riding through the desert

Ken and Femi looking right at home on their transportation

After our camel ride, our hosts graciously welcomed us into their tents and prepared a delicious traditional style dinner for us.  Consisting of chicken and various kebab-style grilled meats over rice with fresh-baked breads, we ate family style on the floor in Bedouin fashion.

Amos, Lisa and Jonathan eating a Bedouin dinner

Shimon Peres...in Person

Today we had the amazing opportunity to visit with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. We joined the American Technion Society at the beautiful David Citadel Hotel in a small group session with President Peres and Technion President Peretz Lavie who started the morning by discussing the history of the Technion. The institution, which is about to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of its cornerstone laying, has been the backbone of Israel's high-tech industry, training its engineers and producing groundbreaking research for years.

President Shimon Peres with Peretz Lavie

President Peres, whose support of the Technion over the years helped Israel become the high-tech powerhouse that is is today, predicted the need for Israel to now move into neuroscience and neurotechnology with the same vigor that it entered the nanotechnology industry. Specifically, President Peres emphasized the importance of building better computer-brain interface technology to help researchers understand more precisely how the human mind works. With this technology, he suggested,  researchers could develop stronger therapeutic methods and devices to better cure neurological ailments such as Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's.

The session ended with an open question and answer session for President Peres, who fielded questions on topics such as how Israel will incorporate the innovations of companies like Better Place into its infrastructure in the coming years.  The mere fact that President Peres dedicated his time to our group indicated the importance of the high tech industry in Israel, but in spending 90 minutes of his morning in open and frank discussion with us was truly unprecedented. When a statesman of his caliber is willing to dedicate his day to such a cause, its shows the esteem in which the Technion and its innovations are held and how treasured they are by the Israeli government and the individuals who run it.

South Company Visits

Between shopping in the Souq, touring around Jerusalem, floating on the Dead Sea and hiking up Masada, our trip to the south of Israel provided the opportunity to visit some of the nation's leading companies, innovators and thought leaders.  From social venture incubator PresenTense to world drip irrigation leader Netafim, we met with a broad spectrum of business leaders whose scope and purpose truly run the gamut:


PresenTense

This Jerusalem-based incubator for social entrepreneurs fosters change in Israel and abroad by providing the right conditions, networks and education for thought leaders to be successful. From the open kitchen and beanbag chair furnished common area to their proprietary pedagogy focused on building an idea into actionable social change, PresenTense understands innovation. During our visit they put this to the test by taking our team through an "idea slam", which is a creative method to combine individual thoughts on an idea and turn them into a single plan to create change.

Yaron from PresenTense

Hadasit

Before explaining Hadasit (the biomed technology transfer company for Hadassah Hospital), one must first understand Hadassah Hospital. Perched on a massive Mount Scopus campus, Hadassah Medical Center is one of the world's leading medical research companies and certainly the largest facility of its kind in Israel, producing countless patents and innovations for improved medical treatments...which is where Hadasit comes in. The biomed technology transfer company for Hadassah selects the most promising intellectual property coming out of Hadassah and leverages the hospital's facilities to commercialize the technology in-house. With so many of our team members working on medical and biomedical technology applications, this visit showed us one of the several strategic options for our own business plans.

Netafim

From its humble roots on a Kibbutz, this company has grown to become the worldwide leader in drip irrigation and is a key part of keeping Israel green and making its deserts arable. With operations all over the globe, from India and China to the US and Argentina, Netafim is a great example of how solving a local problem can lead to a global business solution.

Cafe Ringelbloom

What's better than a delicious lunch served in a trendy cafe? Knowing that the cafe is part of a socially conscious venture that takes at-risk youth and provides them with the tools and opportunities to better their lives. With a great mission and delectable food, this place is definitely worth a visit for anyone passing through Be'er Sheva.

The team at Cafe Ringelbloom

Jerusalem

No visit to Israel is complete without a trip to its capital and most famous destination: Jerusalem.  As part of a trip to the south of Israel that combined business, pleasure and cultural learning, we had the great fortune to see many of the wonders of this ironically timeless town.  I will disclaim this post, however, by stating that I am neither a historian nor a theologian.  Indeed, more in-depth coverage of the dates, names and religious significance of Jerusalem’s myriad sites should be sought elsewhere.  Rather, I will offer my own perspective on this beautiful city and attempt to express how visiting it has changed my perspective on the country, the region and the world.

Jerusalem is a recognizable name across the globe.  To that end, we are all aware that much of the controversy in this part of the world stems from the variety of claims made to his holy parcel of land.  And we have all seen news stories about when these claims boil over into conflict – but this what not my experience at all.  Throughout my visit, Jerusalem was nothing short of safe and secure.  We passed from the Muslim Quarter to the Jewish Quarter to the Muslim Quarter and from holy place to holy place, and never felt anything short of welcome. If nothing else, witnessing local residents, tourists and religious pilgrims all visiting the same places provided a sense of hope that differences are being set aside as the city’s diverse populations find a way to coexist.


My few days in Jerusalem also provided a deeper understanding of the geopolitical landscape of this region.  For all of its historical importance, this region continues to dominate the headlines on a regular basis, and walking its streets gave me insight into the city and the region.  The Palestinian Territories of the West Bank lie just outside the city limits, and Jordan can be seen from a hilltop on a clear day.  This, combined with Jerusalem’s own diverse population, helped put into perspective the meaning of the city and how it factors into the overall geopolitical landscape of the Middle East.

Without question, the most valuable takeaway from my time in Jerusalem is a deeper appreciation of what makes Jerusalem so important to so many people. Jews, Christians and Muslims all lay claim to parts of this city, and throughout its history Jerusalem has been controlled by a host of rulers from all faiths and backgrounds.  A simple Google News search tells you that the city is important, but it cannot explain why.  Only through walking its streets, shopping in its markets and talking too its residents can the visitor hope to understand the complexity that makes this city what it is.

Jerusalem Souq

This last week we had the amazing opportunity to visit the timeless city of Jerusalem.  It is at once a holy place for some of the world's largest and oldest religions, a destination for pilgrims from across the globe, a tourist attraction that makes a significant contribution to the Israeli economy, and the cultural heartland of Israel. 

Our first introduction to Jerusalem was in the Souq, a large market that was bustling with shoppers picking up provisions before the city shuts down on Shabbat. (Jewish law calls for a day of rest beginning with sundown on Friday, and all shops close for the ensuing 24 hours.)

The market offers every kind of delicious Israeli and Middle Eastern delicacy you could ever crave. The fruits and vegetables were bright and fresh, not necessarily what the novice would expect from a desert where it seldom rains.  I guess we have Netafim's homegrown irrigation technology to thank for that.

The fresh-baked breads were especially delicious and ubiquitous. The challah bread was baked special for Shabbat.  Challah in the US does not even compare.

All in all, the Souq was a great introduction to the long weekend we would spend in Jerusalem as well as a primer on Middle Eastern markets at large.  The tradition behind this type of marketplace dates back to long before we were born, and witnessing it in Jerusalem was a special experience.  Eating all the goodies we picked up was just the icing on the cake.

(all credit to Ken Chen for the beautiful photos)

Shalom and Welcome!

This summer a group of 12 MBA students will spend eight weeks in Haifa, Israel as part of the Dingman Center’s Global Technology Entrepreneurship Fellowship.  There, we will develop commercialization plans for exciting high-tech intellectual property at the Technion in Haifa.  With this blog we hope to communicate what promises to be the experience of a lifetime through our photographs, videos, and collective voice.

What exactly will we be doing in Israel?  At the Technion, often referred to as Israel’s MIT, we will work in teams with our Israeli counterparts to develop commercialization plans for some of the world’s most cutting-edge IP.  We will study Israeli technology and industry dynamics through company visits and meetings with the leaders in agro-technology, water-technology and medical devices.  We will attend conferences in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to immerse ourselves in the latest trends and network with executives in the technology sector.  And we will gain invaluable insight and feedback by pitching our plans weekly to Israeli venture capitalists.

In our free time we’ll explore all that Israel has to offer.  We’ll swim (or float on?) the Dead Sea, tour the ancient city of Jerusalem, enjoy bustling Tel Aviv, and hike in stunning scenery in Israel’s North.  We’ll seek out the finest shawarma and falafel Israel has to offer.  And we might even spend a few hours on the beach.

We'll do all of this as a team; we'll learn from one another, sharing cultures, languages and perspectives towards the goal of collective learning.

Throughout the summer this blog will relate the story of our time in Israel.  We hope you enjoy it.